Cut won't stop bleeding, what to do?

If a cut is not deep, it is enough to stop the bleeding and treat the damaged place with antiseptic. Deep cuts will require medical help as tendons, vessels, ligaments, nerves, muscles can be damaged.

Ask Naij

The fingers and toes are so involved in all kinds of work that even a small cut causes difficulties and change of plans. The question of how to stop the bleeding from the finger can occur by unintentional injury. Any careless action with cutting or piercing objects contributes to this type of injury.

You need to try to stop the bleeding as quickly as possible, because the wound is always an "open gate" for infection, and penetration of the pathogen directly into the blood greatly accelerates its development.

So, let's remember the basic rules of dealing with a cut.

The cut is not deep

If a cut is little, the blood usually stops on its own within ten minutes. Of course, if a person has no problems with coagulation or if he doesn't take medication anticoagulant action.

Therefore, the main actions consist in the mechanical compression of the edges of the cut, preventing infection. It never hurts to start with washing the wound under running tap water. You can't be sure that the thing which caused the injury was sterile.

You should then clean up the cut with hydrogen peroxide. This sanitizer cleans the wound and washes away the germs from the inside with foam.

Before applying the dressing we suggest wrapping the finger with a strip of paper soaked in peroxide. Thus, you will relieve discomfort while stripping the stubborn bandage. The dressing shouldn't squeeze the finger too much.

For small wounds, the antibacterial adhesive is sufficient . If the cut is formed on the hand, you can to keep the arm in the raised position before bandaging(for "low tide" of blood).

If the bandage remains dry, the blood doesn't ooze out, then you need to remove the bandage and treat the wound edges with iodine. Then re-apply a bandage or bactericidal plaster.

The wound is quite deep

The depth of the wound can be suspected if the long-term bleeding doesn't stop, the edges converge badly, the person feels pain, and there's impaired function of the fingers.

Particularly unpleasant feelings occur in deep piercing wounds.

In such cases, you need to inspect the wound, perhaps it has particles of dirt, rust, glass, or grit, which do not allow to stop the bleeding. You have to remove them from the wound. If you have a chance, pour a solution of hydrogen peroxide into the wound. You should lay in a horizontal position and raise the affected part of the body.

The bandage should not be too tight. You need to leave the possibility for contaminations to get out with blood. If the dressing continues to absorb the blood, it is necessary to consult a doctor.

Indications for medical assistance

Not always you are able to cope with bleeding on your own. The wound may be deep, quite large vessels can be damaged. Contaminated surfaces lead to suppuration. Contact a doctor in the following cases:

The blood flows under pressure, there's a noticeable ripple. Maybe there's arterial bleeding and you need to put a tourniquet above the cut.

You can feel the loss of sensitivity to fingers, you're unable to move, flex or extend phalanges. Surgical intervention is required.

The wound is large and blood is constantly oozing through the bandage.

The surface is dirty, the inside of the wound contains some particles, the edges are red. In the case of a running inflammation, the finger becomes swollen, it hurts in a pulsating character. It is a signal of suppuration.

What not to do?

If you cut your arm until the running blood and you're unable to clean the wound from glass fragments or other substances, don't try to extend the edges of the cut and remove the particles. You need to get a tourniquet above the cut (if you have severe bleeding), close the wound with a bandage and go to the doctor.

Do not pour different products such as sugar or starch on the cut. They do not play a practical role to stop the blood. However, they can contaminate the wound.